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| April 17, 2006 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 18, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Suicide bomber in Israel's Tel Aviv kills eight TEL AVIV, April 17 (Reuters) A Palestinian suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded 60 others at a sandwich stand in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Monday. The Israeli government of acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said it held the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority responsible for the bombing, which was claimed by the Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade militant groups. Olmert said he was weighing a response. Medics put the number killed at eight, not including the suicide bomber. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the bombing, as did the United States. A Hamas spokesman called the attack "a natural result of the continued Israeli crimes against our people".(First Posted@ 16:00 PST Updated @ 19:35 PST)
Hockey: Pakistan defeat England in World Cup Qualifier CHONGDHOU, China, April 17 ( PPI ): Pakistan Monday defeated England 3-2 at the World Cup Hockey qualifying tournament in Chinese city of Chongdhou.(Posted @ 23:45 PST)
Three Al-Qaida suspects arrested after shootout in northwestern Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) _ Pakistani anti-terror police commandos on Monday arrested two Afghans and an Arab, suspected to be al-Qaida militants, after a gunfight outside the northwestern city of Peshawar, two intelligence officials said. The officials did not reveal the identity of the arrested men, and it wasn't immediately clear if they were suspected to be senior figures in the terror group.(Posted @ 23:20 PST)
Musharraf asks investors to take advantage of investment friendly polices KARACHI, APRIL 17 (APP): President Pervez Musharraf on Monday invited investors to take advantage of investment friendly economic policies and abundant skilled cheap labour in Pakistan. He was speaking at a reception hosted by American Business Council (ABC) here. He added that privatization, deregulations and liberalization economic policies pursued by the government had given a big boost to economic growth.(Posted @ 21:16 PST)
No US guards on Pakistan's nuclear installations: FO ISLAMABAD, Apr 17 (APP): Pakistan on Monday said it was cooperating with the United States on several security matters, but there were no American "guards" on its nuclear installations. On Dr A Q Khan, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam told reporters at the weekly briefing that "as far as Pakistan is concerned the network ceases to exist," she added. She also denied any meeting of any US official with Dr A Q Khan. When asked about a recent interview of PML Secretary General Senator Mushahid Hussain alleging Indian involvement in the unrest in Balochistan, the spokesperson said she has not seen the article. On Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defence cooperation, she said no new agreements were signed during the visit of Saudi Crown Prince. When asked about the statement of Afghan President Karzai on transit trade, Ms Aslam said "On overland transit, our position is clear as this issue is related to the overall Pakistan-India talks and is part of the discussions in the Composite Dialogue process". When asked whether Pakistan, like Iran, would contribute funds for the Hamas led Palestinian government, Ms Aslam said, "we have ongoing cooperation with the Palestinian Authority," but added that it has not sought any assistance from Pakistan. About Iran's nuclear issue, she reiterated "Pakistan opposes use of force and urges all sides to show restraint and abide by international laws."(Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Nepali troops open fire on protesters, one killed KATHMANDU, April 17 (Reuters) Nepali troops opened fire on anti-monarchy protesters in an eastern town on Monday and killed one man, witnesses and officials said. The Communist Party of Nepal (UML) however said in a statement that two people had been killed. In the capital, Kathmandu, unrest rocked the tourist quarter of Thamel for the second day, as police burst tear gas shells and charged at slogan-shouting youths to break up a protest. In other parts of the city, security forces lobbed tear gas shells and carried out cane charges against protesters. A strike in support of the campaign has sent food prices shooting up, and triggered a fuel shortage. Hundreds of cars and motorcycles were queued at gas stations in Kathmandu and pump owners had begun impromptu rationing. (First Posted @ 09:35 PST Updated @ 21:10 PST)
Big turnout as India's communist bastion votes NEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) Millions of voters casted their ballot on Monday in India's West Bengal state, where the world's longest-ruling elected communist government is seeking another term in office. Chief electoral officer Debasish Sen said that about 70 percent of the 6.8 million registered voters had turned out, and there were no reports of any violence as polling ended at 5 p.m. (1130 GMT).The state's ruling leftists are fighting the main opposition Congress party, which heads the federal government.(First Posted@13:50 PST Updated @ 20:58 PST)
US court rejects appeal by two Chinese men at Guantanamo WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to consider whether a federal judge can free two Chinese Muslims who remain imprisoned unlawfully at Guantanamo Bay, despite being cleared as "enemy combatants." The justices refused to review the judge's decision that a federal court cannot provide any relief to Abu Bakker Qassim and A'del Abdu Al-Hakim, two members of the Uighur ethnic group held at Guantanamo while the United States searches for a country to take them. The two men, who were captured in Pakistan, have been detained since June 2002 at Guantanamo, where the United States holds about 490 terrorism suspects. The U.S. government has said it cannot return the Uighurs to China because they would face persecution there.(Posted @ 20:34 PST)
India says it won't commit to U.S. on atomic testing NEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) India said on Monday it would make no explicit commitment to the United States not to conduct fresh nuclear tests as part of a civilian atomic cooperation agreement. The draft of a civilian nuclear agreement suggested that the pact would be discontinued if India tested a nuclear device, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "In preliminary discussions on these elements, India has already conveyed to the U.S. that such a provision has no place in the proposed bilateral agreement," the statement said. "India is bound only by what is contained in the July 18 joint statement, that is, continuing its commitment to a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing," it said.(Posted @ 19:38 PST)
Police in Azad Kashmir break up quake payment protest MUZAFFARABAD, Azad Kashmir, April 17 (Reuters) Police in Azad Kashmir on Monday baton-charged a rally by survivors of last year's earthquake worried about compensation for destroyed or damaged homes. "We had to use batons because they refused to disperse peacefully. But it was mild action," said a senior government official. The protesters, most of them students, were beaten on a main road in Muzaffarabad, as they tried to march towards the region's legislative assembly. Police said some of the protesters had tried to damage vehicles and 10 had been detained. He denied that anyone had been injured although witnesses said a few of the protesters appeared to have been slightly hurt. The protesters complained of what they called the "anti-people" policies of the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority and the government of Azad Kashmir. However, a government spokesman said "The government wants to ensure transparency of the process in line with the requirements of donor agencies," adding that “the government will fully facilitate survivors."(Posted @ 19:22 PST)
Sonia Gandhi files papers for Indian by-election RAE BARELI, India, April 17, 2006 (AFP) India's Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday filed papers for re-election to the national parliament which she quit last month in the wake of accusations that she wrongfully held two salaried posts. Gandhi submitted her nomination papers in the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency, 110 kilometres from Lucknow.(Posted @ 18:05 PST)
President Musharraf urges SME sector to expand their operation KARACHI, April 17 (APP) President Pervez Musharraf called upon the banking sector to provide financing and banking services to the Small and Medium Enterprise and expand their outreach to rural areas. "The SME sector generates employment and gives boost to economic activity whereas agricultural sector would help boost production which would impact the GDP growth", he said while commenting on the presentation made by Governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr. Shamshad Akhtar at the SBP head office here Monday. He said banks were making good profits and should pass on this profit to the depositors by increasing the rate of return on deposits. He also expressed concern over rising inflation and stressed that it should be controlled and brought down. "I hope we will surpass the export target of $ 17 billion and touch $ 18 billion by the end of this fiscal", he added. He also touched upon the law and order situation and briefed them on various measures being taken by the government to control the situation. He also talked about the government decision to spend Rs 10 billion every year in FATA besides taking political and administrative reforms in that area.(Posted @ 18:04 PST)
Bangladeshi journalists protest police violence at Test match CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, April 17, 2006 (AFP) Some 200 Bangladeshi journalists staged a protest Monday against alleged violence by police during the current Test match against Australia. More than a dozen journalists were injured Sunday when police used batons to disperse them after arguments broke out about entry to the stadium in Chittagong city on the first day of the game. On Monday colleagues took to the streets and rallied at the Chittagong Press Club. Many ignored the second day of the Test match.(Posted @ 16:50 PST)
School torched in southern Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 17, 2006 (AFP) Suspected Taliban militants have torched a school in Ghazni province late on Sunday, police said Monday.(Posted @ 16:48 PST)
Qatar says to give $50 million funding to Hamas government DOHA, April 17 (Reuters) Qatar said on Monday it will give $50 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority. A Foreign Ministry official told the state-owned Qatar News Agency the aid decision "stems from Qatar's support for the Palestinian people".(Posted @ 16:46 PST)
India fighter jets to launch supersonic cruise missiles - report NEW DELHI, April 17, 2006 (AFP) The Indian Air Force (IAF) has begun work to arm its frontline fighter jets with supersonic cruise missiles being developed jointly with Russia, a report said Monday. "We need only small changes to be made," Sivathanu Pillai, chief executive of the Indian-Russian firm BrahMos Aerospace told the Press Trust of India (PTI). Pillai said the modifications were being carried out for India's Russian-built Sukhoi-30 multi-role jet fighters. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Oil up near $70 as funds flow in, Iran rumbles on SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) Oil leapt to $70 a barrel for the first time in seven and a half months on Monday, extending strong gains made last week as tension mounted between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. U.S. May crude oil futures traded up 42 cents at $69.74 a barrel by 0934 GMT, having hit $70 earlier. London's Brent crude rose 52 cents to $71.09 after a new record-high of $71.40. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Indian military kicks off nuclear warfare conference NEW DELHI, April 17, 2006 (AFP) Indian military commanders were meeting here Monday to assess the capability of the country's million-plus army to survive nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare, officials said. The week-long commanders' conference would also review progress in the military's ambitions to equip troops with the latest electronics warfare systems, an army spokesman said. Officials said scientists attending the closed-door meet would make a presentation on the development of battlefield command posts, anti-radiation clothing, and reinforced tanks and armoured carriers capable of withstanding NBC attacks. The conference is to be followed next month by military exercises involving 60,000 frontline troops and war jets along Pakistan's borders in northern Punjab state. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Saddam trial adjourned to April 19 BAGHDAD, April 17 (AFP) The trial of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity has been adjourned until April 19, chief judge Rauf Abdel Rahman said Monday. The trial was adjourned to give the prosecution more time to verify signatures, said to be those of the defendants, on execution orders against 148 Shiites from the village of Dujail. Saddam and seven former cohorts are on trial for the massacre of the Shiite villagers after an attempt on his life in Dujail in 1982. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Experts confirm Saddam's signature on document linked to Dujail crackdown BAGHDAD, April 17 (AP) Experts confirmed the authenticity of Saddam Hussein's signature on documents connected to a crackdown on Shiites in the 1980s, prosecutors said Monday in a new session of the trial of the former Iraqi leader and seven co-defendants. The report from handwriting experts said a signature on a document approving rewards for intelligence agents involved in the crackdown was Saddam's, prosecutors said, reading from the report. In an earlier session, Saddam had refused to confirm or deny hissignature. Some of his co-defendants had said their alleged signatures on other documents were forgeries. The defence immediately disputed the experts' results. ``We contest all the details of the report,'' chief defence lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said.``We demand the appointment of other experts who are not employees of the Interior Ministry,'' defence lawyer Khamis al-Obaidi said. ``We demand international experts with international expertise _ except for ones from Iran for its obvious hostility against Arabs and Islam.'' Dressed in a black suit and white shirt, Saddam sat silently in court Monday along with his co-defendants. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
Israel may have to go it alone on Iran: right-wing leader Occupied JERUSALEM, April 17 (AFP) - The head of the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, poised to enter the next cabinet, said Monday that Israel may have to take its own pre-emptive action to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Avigdor Lieberman said Iran's nuclear programme "represents an existential threat for Israel which will oblige us to take unilateral action if the international community does nothing to stop it"."The only difference between the aspirations of the madmen of the current regime in Tehran and Hitler is that their (Iranian) threat is more concrete," he added on Israeli radio. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Senior pro-India politician hurt, guard killed in occupied Kashmir attack SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, April 17 (AFP) A guard was killed and a politician injured Monday in a gun attack by suspected militants in occupied Kashmir, police said. Ali Mohammed Naik, a senior leader of the opposition National Conference party, was hurt when militants opened fire near his house in the town of Tral, 40 kilometers south of Srinagar. "Naik's four police guards were also injured in the attack and one of the guards died on the way to the hospital," a police spokesman said. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Cricket-Back injury forces Atapattu out of England tour COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, April 17 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's captain Marvan Atapattu will miss his team's forthcoming tour of England after failing to recover from a career-threatening back injury. Mahela Jayawardene has been appointed captain and Kumar Sangakkara vice-captain for the ten-week, three-test tour starting later this week. Jehan Mubarak has been named as Atapattu's replacement. (Posted @ 11:35 PST)
Gunbattle in Baghdad; 3 bodies found BAGHDAD, April 17 (AP) A gunbattle between insurgents and the Iraqi army broke out before dawn Monday in northern Baghdad, killing at least one civilian and wounding seven others, hospital officials said. The fighting in Azamiyah began about 1 a.m., and continued into the morning. Army officials said they had suffered no casualties. Also in northern Baghdad, police discovered three bodies of blindfolded and handcuffed men in the neighbourhood of Shula. Meanwhile, a roadside bomb targeted an army patrol in central Baghdad, killing one civilian and wounding three other people, including a soldier, in the blast, police said. Assailants attacked a police patrol in western Baghdad in a drive-by shooting, wounding two policemen, police said. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Lightning, hail and heavy rain kill at least 20 in southern India HYDERABAD, India, April 17 (AP) Powerful rainstorms accompanied by lightning and hail left at least 20 people dead and many injured in Andhra Pradesh state, an official said Monday. Across the state at least 15 people were killed when they were struck by lightning, while five others died when they were struck by flying debris or inundated by flash floods that followed the downpours. (Posted @ 11:25 PST)
Pakistani militants behead two US 'collaborators' MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, April 17 (AFP) Suspected pro-Taliban militants beheaded two tribesmen in a remote part of Pakistan for allegedly working for US forces across the border in Afghanistan, officials said Monday. Gunmen captured one of the tribesmen, who had been supplying food to US troops in Afghanistan, and killed him in the town of Khar Qamar in North Waziristan region on Sunday, a security official said. "They beheaded the man and fled in his vehicle," the official said on condition of anonymity. Earlier, residents had also found the headless body of a man in Madhakhel, another town in the region where Pakistani forces have been battling Taliban fugitives and Al-Qaeda linked militants, the official added. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
Experts suspect Iran's nuclear program more advanced than thought: report WASHINGTON, April 17 (AFP) A one-sentence assertion made by the Iranian president has provoked such surprise and concern among international nuclear inspectors they are planning to confront Tehran about it this week, The New York Times reported Monday. The newspaper said the assertion involves Iran's claim that even while it begins to enrich small amounts of uranium, it is pursuing a far more sophisticated way of making atomic fuel. Western analysts long suspected that Iran had a second, secret program -- based on the P-2 centrifuge provided by Pakistani nuclear engineer Abdul Qadeer Khan -- separate from the activity at its main nuclear facility at Natanz, the report said. But they had no proof. Then on Thursday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Tehran was "presently conducting research" on the P-2 centrifuge, boasting that it would quadruple Iran's enrichment powers. European diplomats said a delegation of Iranian officials is due to arrive on Tuesday in Vienna, where IAEA will press them to address the new enrichment claim, as well as other questions about Iran's program, including a crude bomb design found in the country, The Times said. (Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Sri Lanka blasts kill seven COLOMBO, April 17 (AFP) At least seven people, including four soldiers, were killed in two mine attacks in Sri Lanka on Monday, officials said, one day after Tamil Tiger rebels said they would not attend peace talks. A powerful landmine exploded Monday near an army truck in Vavuniya district, killing four soldiers and wounding eight others, a military official said. Another Claymore mine exploded further north in the Jaffna peninsula, killing the man who was carrying it and two others, a military source said. (Posted @ 09:20 PST Updated @10:05 PST)
Boy scouts killed in Spanish bus crash MADRID, April 17 (Reuters) Four people, two of them boy scouts, were killed when a bus returning from a holiday camp overturned near the northern Spanish city of Oviedo late on Sunday, the Civil Guard police said. There were 27 children and five monitors on board. All others received injuries. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Prisoners surrender after 20-hour siege in Tasmania SYDNEY, April 17 (AFP) - Prison guards fired a chemical spray to end a siege by inmates who overpowered a female guard, stole her keys and seized control of part of a maximum-security Tasmanian jail, officials said Monday. Twenty-six prisoners surrendered after the chemical -- reported to be pepper spray -- ended a 20-hour stand-off in the Risdon Prison in Hobart around dawn Monday, said a prisons spokesman. Inmates had demanded better food, dental treatment and access to exercise facilities, he said. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 136.99 points: KARACHI, Apr 17 : At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 12273.82, up 136.99 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Apr 17: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.18 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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